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While many Moroccans are getting ready for Eid al-Adha to host barbecues and enjoy famous traditional lamb recipes and meals, experts from the United Nations revealed in a new report that these practices are contributing to the climate crisis.
Experts from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), expected to release a detailed report Thursday on global warming, are very serious about their comments on meat-based diets. A leaked draft of the report suggests that reducing meat consumption and adopting a plant-based diet is a must to save the planet.
IPCC experts say that «it will be impossible to keep global temperatures at safe levels unless there is also a transformation in the way the world produces food and manages land», The Guardian wrote on Sunday. According to this report, meat production takes a heavy toll on our planet, with humans «exploiting 72% of the planet’s ice-free surface to feed, clothe and support Earth’s growing population». In addition to deforestation, half of all emissions of methane come from cattle.
Growing productions related to meat is likely to have serious impacts on the planet. «Climate change exacerbates land degradation through increases in rainfall intensity, flooding, drought frequency and severity, heat stress, wind, sea-level rise and wave action», the report indicates.
Becoming vegetarian … But what about Eid al-Adha
To help save our planet, the authors of the report listed a series of recommendations. One of them targets what we eat, our diets and what we should avoid consuming. «The consumption of healthy and sustainable diets, such as those based on coarse grains, pulses and vegetables, and nuts and seeds … presents major opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions», the same report stressed.
Humans will have to adopt, sooner of later, vegetarian diets, in addition to policies that would help spread the trend. «Policies need to include improved access to markets, empowering women farmers, expanding access to agricultural services and strengthening land tenure security», the report stated.
Is it possible to convince Moroccans into abandoning meat-based food, especially at this time of the year ? According to a survey conducted by Sunergia on behalf of Moroccan daily L’Economiste, only 3% of Moroccans are considered vegetarians.
According to the findings of the survey, published in June, 48% of Moroccans said that they consume meat several times during the week. The newspaper revealed that almost two thirds of Moroccans are addicted to meat.
